Asbestos has traditionally been used as a heat insulating, fireproof material. Prior to the recent concern about the health hazards involved with the use of asbestos, asbestos was extensively used in all fields of construction. With the recent public awareness of the detrimental effects of the exposure to asbestos fibers found in airborne dust and the like, many clean-up campaigns have been undertaken to eliminate asbestos and asbestos-containing dust from public places. Asbestos-containing dust has therefore now become a major health concern.
Asbestos-containing dust is generated during the removal of asbestos, routine building renovations and building maintenance. Asbestos-containing materials have been found to regularly sluff off from pipe and boiler covering materials, ceiling coverings, and insulation. Particular attention has now been given to this problem in schools and other public buildings where accumulations of asbestos-containing dust is commonly found in corridors, rooms and maintenance areas.
The clean up of asbestos-containing dust is a problem unto itself. The fine asbestos particles found in asbestos-containing dust present asbestos in its most dangerous form. Asbestos fibers in dust easily take flight on air currents and can readily circulate throughout an entire air circulation system of a building. The levels of contamination, though invisible to the human eye, are often as high as those levels of contamination which have been documented to cause significant percentages of cancer in exposed populations.